Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I hope so. I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate. It is an important one. Deputy Ring has left the Chamber. While I agree with a lot he said, his former Taoiseach led the campaign to get rid of the Seanad if I remember. His story was told in a certain way with certain truths in it, told disingenuously. However, I agree with him on the points made about the absence of power at local authorities.

As usual I want to thank the Library and Research Service for their excellent digest of the Bill. The Bill has seven Parts and 60 sections. I have not gone through it in detail but have looked at it quickly. It does not directly affect me in Galway city. It is noteworthy in terms of the power to bring in a budget, which is significant. At the same time, the digest points out that the mayor is to get all of the executive functions that are not listed that remain with the CEO. However, nowhere are those executive functions mentioned.

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